This blog is dedicated to my 9 year old son Shawn,who has Asperger's Syndrome. The blog was initially created to help locate our missing 3 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi "Beaner" who left us on July 21, 2006. The blog has developed into much more and now promotes Autism Awareness, Animal Advocacy/Rescue, Social Justice for Women and Children, Healing, Love, Peace,and everything else that matters! I hope you enjoy the blog as much i have enjoyed creating it. I will respond to all posts/inquiries.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

"Me and My Ideal Match" I am a reserved, non-judgemental man, with a big heart for the right person. I hope to find someone that is open, honest and caring that can carry on an intelligent conversation. I enjoy spending time with my children, I am very involved in their activities. In my free time, I like to work around my house and yard, play golf, run, or maybe spend some time relaxing in front of the fireplace with a good book and a glass of wine. I am very easy going.

I hope to find a woman that can be my best friend first. After all, when the honeymoon is over, you still need to be able to communicate and enjoy each other's company. I am looking for openness and honesty. I realize that we have all had our own history and we all have faults, it is how we chose to deal with these aspects of our lives that give us character. I believe you should not judge others until you have walked that mile in their shoes. We are who we are...are we compatible?

A group of U.S. researchers, associated with a group of Boston-based hospitals known as the Autism Consortium, conducted complete genome scans of 1,400 samples of DNA from families of autistic children.

They found that in one per cent of people with autism, or similar disorders, a portion of chromosome 16 is either absent or duplicated. This is not inherited from the parents.

To ensure this finding held true in other autism patients, researchers then examined the data of 1,000 patients from Children's Hospital Boston — about fifty per cent of whom had been formally diagnosed as being autistic or having a developmental problem.

Among those children with developmental issues, five had the same deleted section of chromosome 16, and another four had a duplicated chromosome.

The researchers caution that it is still early days in genetic research into autism.

"We're still a long way from understanding how this chromosomal deletion or duplication increases the risk for autism, but this is a critical first step toward that knowledge," said Mark Daly, the study's senior author for gene discovery, in a release.

The study is published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

To date, only 10 per cent of all autism cases have been traced to genetic and chromosomal abnormalities, say the authors.

"These large, non-inherited chromosomal deletions are extremely rare," said Daly, "so finding precisely the same deletion in such a significant proportion of patients suggests that it is a very strong risk factor for autism.

"We're now pursuing more detailed genetic studies to figure out which genes in this region are responsible for this effect in order to gain a better understanding of the underlying biology and potential clues to therapeutic approaches."